The present teachings relate generally to tissue engineering, and more specifically to systems and methods to monitor tissue growth.
Magnetic resonance can be used to characterize the composition of materials by taking advantage of the different resonant frequencies of molecular structures. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) involves applying a magnetic field to the material, and the composition of the material determines the frequency of the resonance. When resonance is achieved, the material is illuminated for a short time with a radio frequency (RF) signal at the frequency of the resonance. When the material is illuminated, the material absorbs some of the signal's energy. When there is no illumination, the material will echo some of the absorbed energy back out. The echo can be used to identify the material. By systematically adjusting the magnetic field gradient and signal's pulse waveform, the echo can be converted into an image that enables tissue monitoring. NMR devices can be any size. Smaller NMR devices can include permanent magnets and can be used to measure high-resolution NMR spectra. Advances in real-time magnetic resonance techniques can be used to detect moving fluid as it passes through the magnetic field of the magnetic resonance apparatus. Real-time magnetic resonance techniques include continuous data acquisition and iterative reconstruction, and can be used to create a differenced picture of the temporal variation of the tissue growth based on effluent flowing through a growing tissue enclosure.
Currently, desktop NMR devices weigh between about 42 pounds and 375 pounds. A lighter device, geared for production settings, can be cost-effective to build and use. A device that can analyze multiple samples simultaneously can enable rapid tissue analysis.